Scores of people pointed their mobile phones at the bodies burning in hell-hot flames in the heart of the quarter after they had been stoned and cursed for depriving locals of their peace, money, and valuables at gunpoint.

“Ntamulung has rejected criminals armed with guns who move and threaten the populace in broad daylight. These criminals had attempted to rob the Rev. Moyo around Upper Ntamulung when the population resisted them,” a local believed to be in his early 60s said as he gulped down a bottle of beer in celebration.

An eyewitness explained, on grounds of anonymity, that the gunmen were three in number but one managed to escape while the population roasted two.

“The three armed men who entered Ntamulung this afternoon stopped a retired Reverend Pastor of the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon, the Rev. Moyo. They wanted money from him. They said he should give support. He said he did not have money. As he was trying to calm down the armed boys, they were rude and arrogant. Their tone drew the attention of onlookers who expressed dissatisfaction with the activities of the armed men. They then raised an alarm and before long, a crowd gathered. Sensing danger, the three gunmen ran in different directions,” an eyewitness said.

We learned that two of the gunmen ran towards the area known as Waikiki. As the chase got intense, one of them brandished his gun to scare the people that were after him. He fired one shot but it did not hurt anyone.

“It would appear that was the only bullet he had in the gun because he could not shoot further. He could therefore not do more than run for his life. He tried to enter into a compound near Saint Agnes Nursery and Primary School, but the gate was locked. He decided to jump into a swamp beside the Bible Study Outreach Church, Pastor Commando’s Church. But because vegetable has been cultivated in the swamp, there was no hiding place for this gunman. That is how he was caught. The population came out from all over Ntamulung and Sonac Street and gave the guy snake beatings,” a local said.

Our source furthered that: “Unknown to the other gunman who was still hiding, he came out running. But given his non-mastery of the terrain, and the vigilance of the population, he was caught. He was brought near the Bible Study Outreach Church. They also beat him mercilessly. In fact, the population took justice into their hands and beat both gunmen to death.”

Security forces are said to have arrived on the scene when mob justice had already been served the two gunmen and their corpses put on fire.

As the smell of the burnt corpses filled the air, some locals went celebrating the end of criminality in Ntamulung.

Some people could be overheard saying that the gunmen were indeed separatists, given that they had guns and some objects that looked like charms on their bodies. Others said the gunmen had harassed them on several occasions.

“They have been coming here asking for support. We are struggling to make ends meet despite the Anglophone crisis and covid-19 but all they do is harass us and ask for support. We are tired of them,” an eyewitness said, narrating the story to a small group that had gathered.

“The people of Ntamulung are very happy. A majority of households are celebrating. You remember that General Mad Dog (Fonteh Lucas Ndefru) was the only known notorious amba in Ntamulung. When he died, the people heaved a sigh of relief. They knew that amba in Ntamulung had died with Mad Dog. Fonteh’s death has emboldened the people of Ntamulung to take their destinies into their hands and fight criminality of all sorts,” a resident of Ntamulung told us by phone. “Ntamulung has always been in the bad book of security officials. Ntamulung is seen as a place that harbors criminals. Just this morning, there was a security patrol in Ntamulung. After the security forces left, those gunmen came out of their hideouts and started harassing the population asking for support with guns in hand.”

The resident furthered that: “Fonteh was the face of criminality in Ntamulung. Since he died, we no longer fear anything. We will wipe out crime in Ntamulung. We want to live and sleep in Ntamulung in peace. Today is Monday and the separatists have forced us to stay home in the name of ghost town. At the same time, they go around robbing us of our peace, money, and other valuables. We cannot be helpless in the hands of criminals. The population that followed these guys tells you that enough is enough. We are all tired.”

Monday’s action underscored the growing fears and suspicions swirling around the four-year-old Anglophone protest movement, which engulfed Cameroon’s North West and South West Regions in 2016 when thousands took to the streets to decry government corruption, poor services, and scarcity of jobs, benefiting from a strike action called by teachers and lawyers against perceived marginalization.

The street demonstrations later morphed into ongoing running gun battles between state forces and armed separatist fighters in the predominantly English-speaking regions, leading to untold destruction of human lives, their habitats, and livelihoods.

Cameroon’s state forces have been battling to dislodge the armed separatists who pitched their tents in the North West and South West Regions since Anglophone protests transformed into an armed conflict in 2017.

Tit-for-tat killings, kidnappings, arsons, maiming, and outright terror have become part of daily lives in some parts of the English-speaking regions.